


Everything

by Joshanddonna



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-24
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2020-05-18 23:18:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19344709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joshanddonna/pseuds/Joshanddonna
Summary: A very short fic about what might have happened in that hotel room in 20 Hours in America





	Everything

Donna, Toby, and Josh were sitting in their hotel room watching the coverage of the Kenison State bombing in somber silence. They were only supposed to be there for a half hour, but it was too difficult to tear themselves away. Toby was the first to go, leaving abruptly to say he needed a drink. It was clear that he was leaving to avoid being emotional in front of Josh and Donna, but they were all okay pretending that wasn’t the reason. 

After Toby left, Josh pulled his eyes away from the TV to glance over at Donna. She was holding back tears. They witness tragedy in their jobs often, but Donna always took it to heart. It was one of the things Josh loved about her. She genuinely felt other people’s pain, because she cared. She cared about everyone. Josh wanted to comfort her but he didn’t know how. In the moments where all he wanted to do was hold her, he struggled with their lines. They were unspoken, but there were always lines they just didn’t cross. They had a tacit understanding that crossing certain lines would ruin everything. 

Josh reached over to hold her hand lightly, hoping it was okay. She squeezed it tightly to let him know that it was. These were the moments Josh cherished the most. When nobody was around, and he could have what little intimacy he was allowed to have with Donna. Every look, every touch was special to him, even if he couldn’t let Donna know it. 

Josh finally broke the silence. “It’s gonna be okay, Donna.” Josh knew it was a weak attempt at comforting her, but it was all he could muster.   
“No, it’s not.” She said, not moving.   
“You’re right. I can’t even imagine.” He replied quietly.  
“I can. Unimaginable tragedy, feeling like you’ve lost everything. Thankfully I didn’t, but I know what it’s like.”   
Josh shuddered at her mention of Rosalyn. Of course it was his first thought when he saw the bombing on TV, but he tried to keep it to himself. He wanted to be strong for Donna, but in a way it was nice to know he wasn’t alone in thinking about it. 

“Everything?” He said.   
“What?” She said, interrupted from a trance.   
“You said you almost lost everything. You mean, you almost lost me.”  
She finally turned to look at him with a serious expression. “Josh, honestly, that is everything.”  
Josh was taken aback by this admission, by her vulnerability. He wanted to tell her that she was his everything too, but he could only manage a dumbfounded look. She looked down and realized they were still holding hands. She began to pull her hand away when Josh tugged her gently towards him. Mere inches apart, he whispered “you are my everything, Donna”, before kissing her softly.


End file.
